Sunday, May 09, 2004

The Art of the Pool Report

Way back when, I linked to an article on the White House "pool report." Basically, certain journalists are assigned to write down every little thing the President does during periods in which it's difficult for a full compliment of journalists to cover him. Then, these journalists send out this info, the pool report, to everyone else, and they all use it for their respective stories.

Well, one of the best pool reporters, Bob Kemper, is leaving his post to work for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, as this article notes. Check out some of his work:

"Consider his report on President Bush's St. Patrick's evening visit to the British Embassy to see a play called 'The Spider's Web,' featuring the president's sister-in-law, Margaret Bush. 'Was the play good? Who knows?' Kemper wrote. 'Was Margaret the spider? Who knows? Does the play have any chance of opening at the Italian Embassy any time soon? Who knows? You see, though [Bush] was reportedly at the British Embassy, your pool was at Cactus Cantina, a Mexican restaurant on Wisconsin Avenue.'"